When Earth failed, it sent out arkships to establish new outposts. So the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive on Imir, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.
Then strangers appear, on a world where everyone knows their neighbour. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling new technology – for they have come from the stars, to help humanity’s lost colonies. But not all is as it seems on Imir.
As the visitors lose track of time and memories, they discover the colonists fear unknown enemies and Imir’s own murky history. Neighbour turns against neighbour, as society fractures in the face of this terrifying foe. Perhaps some other intelligence is at work, toying with colonists and space-faring scientists alike? But not all questions are so easily answered – and the price may be the colony itself.
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MY THOUGHTS
Well, where to begin. . .?
First things first I guess I can start with a warning - if you haven't yet read Children of Time and Children of Ruin I really suggest you do before reading Children of Memory. There is enough information in the beginning of CoM to give you the general gist of what has gone before but to really get the benefit you really need to immerse yourself in the whole series (you can thank me later). If you have read and enjoyed CoT and CoR you don't really need me to tell you this too is an awesome read.
The main difference here is that although CoM is obviously Science Fiction it leans more towards Science Fantasy with the majority of the story being set on a new world that has been supposedly prepared and terraformed ready for the humans that have left a dying Earth. They have travelled (suspended animation) for 3,000 years and to say the planet Imri is a disappointment -practically nothing that should have been done in preparation for them has been - is an understatement to say the least. Imri felt quite like an early version of the authors Echoes of the Fall series (we'll just have to wait and see I guess). There is a second strand to the book which features his Uplifted spider and octopi races from the previous books and a new uplift creature too (I tried to guess beforehand but was way off the mark) The story jumps around a good bit and takes a bit of getting used to but when it all comes together it goes from being really good to astonishingly good.
I'll be honest, I'm picky with my Sci-Fi, much preferring to settle down with a massive fantasy epic but Tchaikovsky does SF in a way that makes the tech stuff, the sciencey stuff more relatable. It's the Tchaikovsky name that sold me on Children of Time in the first place as I have yet to come across one of his books I have not enjoyed. I'm hoping this series still has a few more books to go yet as it feels there could be more story to tell.
Thanks to Stephen at Black Crow PR for inviting me onto this blogtour and for providing a review arc (my views are my own). Please have a look at the posts by the other bloggers on the tour (below)
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